Fissile:Gas at near $4 a gallon for a long time now, and this still the most popular vehicle among American farkwits. Unbelievable.

What's the cost of an F250? $40k? more? I doubt it's the cost for people that need to keep an eye for MPG due to cost of gas. Also, I'm betting that those F250s get chopped up and shipped to Mexico or Latin America when those trucks are used offroad.

The list is utterly useless without listing the model years being stolen. For a while there was breathless "you should panic because your new car will be stolen!" articles every year about how the Accord, Civic, and Corolla were huge theft targets but they always ignored that the stolen models were really old ones before immobilizers became standard equipment.

I highly doubt that thieves are hot-wiring 2013 F-250s but I could see an early 90s truck being a target because of them being all over the place, having old or non-existent anti-theft, and them being heavily used (and abused) as work trucks and thus having a strong used parts demand. That is supported by the article saying the average theft claim is around $7k.

ddam:Fissile: Gas at near $4 a gallon for a long time now, and this still the most popular vehicle among American farkwits. Unbelievable.

What's the cost of an F250? $40k? more? I doubt it's the cost for people that need to keep an eye for MPG due to cost of gas. Also, I'm betting that those F250s get chopped up and shipped to Mexico or Latin America when those trucks are used offroad.

Loaded up crew cab with a diesel can push $65K if you click on all the option boxes.

Still, most of these are probably being stolen and then stripped for parts that are then resold.

Or it could be that some people hold on to the old idea that a diesel engine should be left running because stopping it and starting it often is bad for the engine and glow plugs etc. Thief sees an unoccupied expensive truck running and it's smash and grab time.

I wonder what the stats are for a 2000 F-250. I have a low mileage turbodiesel model that I use about once a month for hauling the trailer and other heavy stuff. But it lives in a garage the rest of the time so it's not parked outside where visible.

Also for the trolls whining about people buying big trucks - at least in my case I actually use it for what it was intended for, not going to the grocery store. My daily driver is a 30 MPG Mazda sport wagon.

I love the 7.3L turbodiesel. Most reliable and powerful diesel engine that ever came with that truck.

Nobody wants it.No need to pay collision/comprensive on it.Nobody messes with it.No need to fear running it hard or actually "using" it like it was intended.Easy to fix, cheap parts.You're not afraid to bang into at-fault drivers with it .There's an unlimited supply of replacements on Craigslist for three grand."New truck" every few years.

Satanic_Hamster:Fissile: Gas at near $4 a gallon for a long time now, and this still the most popular vehicle among American farkwits. Unbelievable.

On top of that, most of them don't even have trailer hitches or ever use the bed.

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Around here, most are used as cowboy Cadillacs, nothing ever goes in the bed. When I do see a privately registered truck being used to haul something, the cargo is usually motorcycles, jet skis, boats, ATVs, etc

With a Ford cab and interior, and Cat or Cummins diesels under the hood. They never came from the factory with a pickup bed, but third party manufacturers jumped in and started making them back in the heady days before the housing collapse when there were plenty of rednecks with HELOCs burning holes in their pockets.

It's a straight up medium duty truck, built on an International frame. It was part of the tie-up with Navistar that Ford had for a while, the one that also resulted in the absolute worst Ford engine in modern history, the Navistar designed 6.0 liter diesel.

Fissile:Satanic_Hamster: Fissile: Gas at near $4 a gallon for a long time now, and this still the most popular vehicle among American farkwits. Unbelievable.

On top of that, most of them don't even have trailer hitches or ever use the bed.

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Around here, most are used as cowboy Cadillacs, nothing ever goes in the bed. When I do see a privately registered truck being used to haul something, the cargo is usually motorcycles, jet skis, boats, ATVs, etc

They're fairly popular with the rich folks who need to haul their toys around, as well as with ranchers and horse people. I drove up through central FL this weekend along the old highways and more often than not the big trucks I saw had either a horse trailer or a huge boat behind them.

Amen. I had an El Camino in high school, circa 1996, and it was, hands-down, the best car I've ever had. Fast engine and great for the constant relocations of my youth. I would soooo buy one if they came back.

TuteTibiImperes:It's a straight up medium duty truck, built on an International frame. It was part of the tie-up with Navistar that Ford had for a while, the one that also resulted in the absolute worst Ford engine in modern history, the Navistar designed 6.0 liter diesel.

I warned my company about buying a used truck with that 6.0 engine, that it was the most recalled engine in Ford history, but they went with it anyway. A few weeks later I was driving it and oil smoke just started pouring out the exhaust every time I pressed the pedal. A few grand (!) later and its back on the road again.

harlock:TuteTibiImperes:It's a straight up medium duty truck, built on an International frame. It was part of the tie-up with Navistar that Ford had for a while, the one that also resulted in the absolute worst Ford engine in modern history, the Navistar designed 6.0 liter diesel.

I warned my company about buying a used truck with that 6.0 engine, that it was the most recalled engine in Ford history, but they went with it anyway. A few weeks later I was driving it and oil smoke just started pouring out the exhaust every time I pressed the pedal. A few grand (!) later and its back on the road again.

I'm going to make my 7.3L last as long as possible...

-H

The 7.3 is a great engine. The new 6.7 is also great, and was designed entirely in-house by Ford. The 6.4, the second generation Navistar engine, was better than the 6.0, but still had some quirks.

The problems with the 6.0 boil down to two things: torque to yield head bolts that could warp or fail under higher than normal combustion/coolant temperature and an EGR system that was prone to clogging which resulted in higher than normal combustion and coolant temperatures.

Interestingly enough the version of the engine used in International trucks wasn't as problematic, but it was also tuned much differently (much lower HP, higher torque at lower RPM more suited for medium duty applications) and wasn't subject to as stringent emission guidelines as the one used in the pickups, so it didn't have the same EGR and regeneration issues.

Navistar developed an engine was was suitable for their needs, and sold it to Ford as being acceptable for a much different working environment. It was also the first diesel Ford had that was subject to the new and much stricter EPA guidelines for diesel emissions, so there wasn't a lot of experience as to what could go wrong.

The 7.3 is a great engine. The new 6.7 is also great, and was designed entirely in-house by Ford. The 6.4, the second generation Navistar engine, was better than the 6.0, but still had some quirks.

The problems with the 6.0 boil down to two things: torque to yield head bolts that could warp or fail under higher than normal combustion/coolant temperature and an EGR system that was prone to clogging which resulted in higher than normal combustion and coolant temperatures.

Interestingly enough the version of the engine used in International trucks wasn't as problematic, but it was also tuned much differently (much lower HP, higher torque at lower RPM more suited for medium duty applications) and wasn't subject to as stringent emission guidelines as the one used in the pickups, so it didn't have the same EGR and regeneration issues.

Navistar developed an engine was was suitable for their needs, and sold it to Ford as being acceptable for a much different working environment. It was also the first diesel Ford had that was subject to the new and much stricter EPA guidelines for diesel emissions, so there wasn't a lot of experience as to what could go wrong.

Thanks for the background on that, and it's good to hear the 6.7 is an entirely different animal. One day I'll need to upgrade and hope they continue in that direction. I bought the 7.3 used from someone who babied it and I got very lucky. Low mileage, never used as a work truck. Just used it to pull his racing trailers to the track occasionally.

Now I only use it about once a month or so for couple hundred mile round trips each time, so it should continue to last a long time. It came with a hypertec programmer which gives it awesome power from increased boost and tighter shifting. No issues have arisen from that though I'd like to get the pillar gauge set so I can have a pyrometer, or least one of the new smartphone apps that interfaces with the ECU. The engine temp is rock solid but it'd be nice to see what's going on with the turbo.

The 7.3 is a great engine. The new 6.7 is also great, and was designed entirely in-house by Ford. The 6.4, the second generation Navistar engine, was better than the 6.0, but still had some quirks.

The problems with the 6.0 boil down to two things: torque to yield head bolts that could warp or fail under higher than normal combustion/coolant temperature and an EGR system that was prone to clogging which resulted in higher than normal combustion and coolant temperatures.

Interestingly enough the version of the engine used in International trucks wasn't as problematic, but it was also tuned much differently (much lower HP, higher torque at lower RPM more suited for medium duty applications) and wasn't subject to as stringent emission guidelines as the one used in the pickups, so it didn't have the same EGR and regeneration issues.

Navistar developed an engine was was suitable for their needs, and sold it to Ford as being acceptable for a much different working environment. It was also the first diesel Ford had that was subject to the new and much stricter EPA guidelines for diesel emissions, so there wasn't a lot of experience as to what could go wrong.

Thanks for the background on that, and it's good to hear the 6.7 is an entirely different animal. One day I'll need to upgrade and hope they continue in that direction. I bought the 7.3 used from someone who babied it and I got very lucky. Low mileage, never used as a work truck. Just used it to pull his racing trailers to the track occasionally.

Now I only use it about once a month or so for couple hundred mile round trips each time, so it should continue to last a long time. It came with a hypertec programmer which gives it awesome power from increased boost and tighter shifting. No issues have arisen from that though I'd like to get the pillar gauge set so I can have a pyrometer, or least one of the new smartphone apps that interfaces with the ECU. The engine temp is rock solid b ...

At about 100k - 150k miles, it WILL develop an air leak in the fuel system that will cause knocking (almost like a rod knock, but not as loud)....especially noticeable when the fuel level gets below 1/4 full. Eventually it will result in the truck running out of fuel, even though the gauge says otherwise. The fuel pickup in the tank cracks and will have to be replaced. There are several aftermarket companies making retrofit kits for less than half of what a new, stock Ford fuel pickup tube will cost....google "hutch mod". There is also the "harpoon" mod, which increases the stock fuel tank capacity by about 3-5 gallons (depending on which model you have).

bopis:I don't get the whole small penis big car thing. That guy next to the big truck looks puny. I look like King Kong coming out of a small car.

I never understood it either. I see a lot of these same comments in threads about guns as well. As a guy, who has fired many guns, and driven just about every sized vehicle from the 3 cylinder Chevy sprint to extended cab Ford F350, I've never really been worried or even thought too much about my size. Sure guns can be a power trip so I guess I can kind of imagine a guy that feels powerless to gravitate to that sort of thing. But when driving a large truck I just feel like I'm carefully tip toeing around everything. Driving a tiny high torque car is FAR more of a power trip than any pickup. Maybe these comments are just projecting their own self concise fear onto people that they dislike.

MonoChango:bopis: I don't get the whole small penis big car thing. That guy next to the big truck looks puny. I look like King Kong coming out of a small car.

I never understood it either. I see a lot of these same comments in threads about guns as well. As a guy, who has fired many guns, and driven just about every sized vehicle from the 3 cylinder Chevy sprint to extended cab Ford F350, I've never really been worried or even thought too much about my size. Sure guns can be a power trip so I guess I can kind of imagine a guy that feels powerless to gravitate to that sort of thing. But when driving a large truck I just feel like I'm carefully tip toeing around everything. Driving a tiny high torque car is FAR more of a power trip than any pickup. Maybe these comments are just projecting their own self concise fear onto people that they dislike.

Or maybe, just maybe, you have a small penis.

It's a just a joke. 5% of men who drive a large truck actually do have a normal sized penis.

MonoChango:bopis: I don't get the whole small penis big car thing. That guy next to the big truck looks puny. I look like King Kong coming out of a small car.

I never understood it either. I see a lot of these same comments in threads about guns as well. As a guy, who has fired many guns, and driven just about every sized vehicle from the 3 cylinder Chevy sprint to extended cab Ford F350, I've never really been worried or even thought too much about my size. Sure guns can be a power trip so I guess I can kind of imagine a guy that feels powerless to gravitate to that sort of thing. But when driving a large truck I just feel like I'm carefully tip toeing around everything. Driving a tiny high torque car is FAR more of a power trip than any pickup. Maybe these comments are just projecting their own self concise fear onto people that they dislike.

Fire a 50 cal. and your schwanse lengthens to about a foot/foot and a half. Duh.

I "tool' around in a Mazda 3 tired gobbler. Looked at price, milage and legroom (6'5" height SUCKS shopping for cars). Never thought once about using my vehicle to attract the girls. Maybe having a sense of humor and some charm is all I need, I dunno.